Barely Flying
by Kiromata Kumiko
Summary: The life of a shinobi revolves around a series of unfortunate and painful events. What is it that makes it worth it? [NejixOC] "When we were little, we held our hands for fun. Now, we hold them to become stronger." -Hyuuga Neji, Barely Flying, Chapter 9
1. １つ

**A/N: **_The first few chapters will be more likely to introduce the OCs, so little canon will be present. I personally think is better this way than just start the action without knowing who this and that are. This wouldn't have been necessary for one or two OCs, but when you have more of them, it gets difficult to manage. Please bear with me a little until the action starts. Enjoy! :)_

**第1章**

**Chapter**** 1**

_When he first put a kunai in my hand, he had already decided my fate for me. _

As the light seeped through the window and onto her eyes, Aya shot out of bed and finished her morning routine in ten minutes, ready to head out the door and to the Academy. Being late wasn't an option when having to pass an examination to finally get a hitai-ate and rightfully being called a kunoichi. She ran through the Hara compound at full speed. People were waving or bowing at her as she passed them, and she shouted her greeting in response, not allowing herself to stop. A middle aged woman in a sky blue tomesode sighed at the running girl that just passed her, raising a cloud of dust behind her. "Aya-sama is going to be late again" she sighed, waving a delicate hand in front of her lightly wrinkled face. The scowling, much older looking man scoffed at the woman's statement. "The child is a lot smarter than she lets out. She always arrives on time" his wife smiled absentmindedly.

* * *

She slid the door to her classroom open and took a seat, trying to catch her breath. '_I really need to stop. This is pathetic_' as she mentally lectured herself, a frail girl approached her jumping excitedly like she was on a sugar overdose and slid in the seat next to her with a close-eyed grin. "Hey, Aya-chin!" she half sing-sang, half shouted. Aya lifted her head from the desk and looked at the girl with a raised eyebrow. "Yu, this would be the hundredth time this week that I tell you to stop shouting in my ear and eating dango as a replacement for every meal" she told her hyperactive friend.

Yu looked almost offended. "You know it's not my fault! That's basically the only thing Anko feeds me, even if I don't really mind it…" Aya knew she was actually right. Yu was an orphan, and for a strange reason unknown to her, the Hokage assigned Mitarashi Anko, a rough, short-tempered woman that also happened to be a tokubetsu jounin, to be her tutor. The only thing that these two agreed on, though, was that dango were heavenly food. She would occasionally invite Yu over and make her have dinner with her and his brother. When this happened, Aya couldn't help but chortle at the effect Arata had on her otherwise hyper friend. She would stare at him for minutes, her cheeks tomato red and her mouth shaped in a minuscule "o". Hilarious, especially upon seeing his brother's crept-out reaction after Yu's leave. The truth was, Hara men were quite a sight, with their long, black hair, blue eyes, slightly tanned skin and perfect stubble. Even if her brother was only eighteen, he already has his own bunch of giggling girls waiting for him around the corner.

The kids in her class were all excited or nervous about the examination. She wasn't really worried, as she was the best in her class. Well, she was actually second to a genius, Hyuuga Neji, and Aya had to admit the boy was impressively skilled. A little while later, the exams started.

* * *

When she returned home, it was already dark out. Yu and Tenten, another friend of hers, had insisted that they would celebrate their graduation at a dango shop. Aya internally cried as Yu stuffed her face to no end.

She took off her ninja sandals and was about to head to her bedroom, when a large hand on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks. She turned around and was welcomed by a… smiling cat. At first she was a bit uncomfortable with her brother walking around with his ANBU mask on, but she grew used to it gradually. However, the mask's expression was the exactly opposite of what was underneath. He took it off to reveal a dead-serious Arata, a sight she did not see often, and now that he was wearing his ANBU gear, he looked even more frightening. She gulped involuntarily, but her eyes narrowed at him in question. He took on immediately and answered her unspoken question.

"As the absolutely amazing and caring brother that I am, I want to talk to you about… our clan's traditions". Pft, he could still joke while killing her with his gaze.

"You're talking about the training" it wasn't a question. She perfectly knew what she had to face in the future. His eyes wavered and his expression softened.

"Come" he led her to the living room and she closed the beautifully golden designed fusuma behind them. They didn't need to be formal around each other. They casually sat on the floor and Aya waited for him to speak. "Aya, I'm not going to beat around the bush. Even if I trained you since you were little and taught you quite a few things, the Hara kunoichi training is on a completely different level. You probably don't know this, but only forty percent of our kunoichi pass." Her serious face fell in a second. What was he saying? She never knew about this. He was about to continue, but she cut him off.

"What about Aoi?" he looked taken aback by her sudden question, but closed his eyes in understanding.

"Aoi is different from the ordinary. She is one of those cases that happen every once in a long while." Aoi was, indeed, a prodigy. At the mere age of nineteen, her cousin had completed her training and was therefore the most graceful yet powerful kunoichi she had ever seen in person. Of course, though, she wasn't _just_ as great as Arata. He was a year younger than her, yet he completed his own training at the age of seventeen. He was, in other words, a genius. Their father, who was the head of the Hara clan, couldn't be more pleased than knowing that his son, the rightful heir, was the best shinobi of the clan and among the best shinobi of Konohagakure. Aya was sometimes jealous of him, but it comforted her to know that he wasn't an arrogant ass. "What I am trying to say is that I don't know who your sensei is going to be" and here she knew he wasn't talking about the jounin the Academy assigned to genin teams "…and if something goes wrong and you get seriously hurt, or anything like that, I won't be allowed to interfere."

"So you're saying that if I die, I shouldn't blame you for not saving me" the look on Arata's face turned from shock to anger in two seconds. She immediately regretted what she said. "Sorry. I didn't mean it. It's just that… I'm not extremely keen on being forced to do something I know I might drop dead in the process." He understood. His eyes held that sympathy that said 'poor thing'. After all, she was just twelve, and the mental pressure on her was great, now that she had to keep up with two kinds of training. He had been through that too, and he survived. He supposed his sister would, too.

"No. No, I'm not saying that. I'm merely apologizing. To hell with the clan rules, if something happens to you I'm not just going to sit around and pretend I couldn't do anything. But I'm telling you, that if for any reason I'm not around and you're in danger…" he narrowed his eyes and grimaced, a hiss escaping his lips, as if he was cursing himself for not being the perfect brother he had always wanted to be. What she said then left him astonished.

"Don't, Arata. Don't risk breaking the clan rules for me. I know you have always been like this to me, and I am grateful, because I couldn't even dream of a better brother. But the time for you to stop spoiling me has to come, or I'll never grow stronger" she was serious. It wasn't like her knees didn't start to tremble when thinking about what she had to face, or didn't completely lose confidence when imaging a stern and merciless sensei pushing her way past her limits. She was terrified, but at the same time, she hated having to lean on her brother whenever she faced a difficult situation.

He couldn't see a trace of doubt on her face. He cared immensely for her, and since their mother had died, leaving no memory of her in Aya's mind, he decided to take the responsibility on himself. He couldn't replace an actual mother, but he tried to do his best, and in her eyes, he succeeded. He sighed and glanced at his sister. She was still an immature twelve-year-old brat, and he couldn't wait to see the results of the Hara training.

"Thank you, _o-nii-san._"

"You never call me that. You know my skin prickles when you call me that."

"And you know I'm just making fun of you."

"Thanks a bunch. Is this what I get after I complete successfully an extremely difficult ANBU mission-"

"Shut your trap. It's not like it's your first one."

"But-"

"Shut it."

Their relationship was indeed flawless.


	2. ２つ

**第****2****章**

**Chapter 2**

The shishi-odoshi broke the garden's quietness as the bamboo arm hit the rock rhythmically. Arata sat in front of his father, feeling the weight of his scrutinizing gaze, but meeting his eyes nonetheless. Hara Kei analyzed his son without a word, as if trying to catch even the slightest sign of uncertainty on his face, but found none. His stern eyes lit up with halfhearted amusement.

"Very well, then." The head of the clan spoke slowly. Arata grinned and bowed deeply.

"Thank you for your understanding, father."

* * *

When she entered her class, she noticed that everyone was sitting quietly. They were probably impatient to know who they would end up with, just like her. She sat next to Yu as per usual. The teacher gave them a boring speech about how they were now out of the Academy and had responsibilities and then started to announce the teams. Tenten ended up with Hyuuga Neji and Rock Lee. Aya's ears perked up at Yu's name.

"Nakama Yu, Hara Aya…" Yu made a whooping sound and strangled her friend with an arm. "Yu…" Aya hissed, a vein pulsing on her head.

"…and Kita Kagerou."

Yu turned around to look at said girl.

"So we're with her" she whispered. Aya narrowed her eyes. Kagerou was a girl with long, blonde hair parted to the side and brown eyes that seemed to hold superiority. Right now, it looked to her like Kagerou was sizing them up, and she didn't like it. The Kita clan was infamous for their attitude. The truth was, they made excellent leaders, but at times they enjoyed it a bit too much. Besides that, Aya didn't fancy Kagerou simply because she was stuck up.

* * *

Everyone got assigned to their jounin-sensei, and her team was now waiting. She sat on the floor leaning against a desk. Yu sat on it while flailing her legs and Kagerou sat in the upper rows, not paying attention to them.

"Why do we have to be last?" Yu pouted.

Aya's eyes shifted to the door as she heard it slide open. A young man entered the classroom and his eye scanned it until he saw all of them. His hair was past shoulder length, straight and messy, and a light shade of thistle in color. He had grey, liquid eyes and was wearing the standard jounin gear. He sighed and scratched his head.

"So I'm stuck with three chicks, huh? Guess it could have been worse." A dark gloom surrounded the three genin at his reaction. "Come on, girls. Let's go somewhere we can get to know each other better." With that they all followed him outside the Academy until they reached a training ground. He sat on a lug and waited for them to sit on the ground. "Let's start by introducing ourselves, 'kay? I'll go first as an example. My name is Aragi Ryuuichi, I'm twenty-eight and I'm a Konohagakure jounin. I love food, especially katsu curry. I hate it when people tell me what to do or stuck their noses in my business. Now, you go next" he said, pointing at Yu. She beamed happily.

"Hai! My name is Nakama Yu and I'm a fresh genin. I love animals, nature, and helping the people around me. The best things about life are dango and dango shops. What I hate the most is queues, waiting for someone to show up and when Anko eats my dango as a punishment" she shook her head fiercely, her chin length dark brown hair swaying about.

"So you're a lively one, huh?" Ryuuichi mused. "How about you?" he turned his head to face Aya, who sat between Yu and Kagerou.

"My name is Hara Aya, and as you already know, I just got out of the Academy. I love my family, my friends and the snow. I don't really hate anything in particular. For now, at least."

Ryuuichi smiled and nod. "Very good. And last but not least…" he trailed off, looking at Kagerou, who sat cross-legged and supported her chin with her palm.

"My name is Kita Kagerou. I just became a genin, but I don't plan on remaining one for too long. What I like and what I hate is nothing you should know about."

Ryuuichi raised an eyebrow at her, but nod nonetheless. '_Anko's protégée, a Hara and a Kita. What was the old geezer thinking, mixing these three up?_'

"Well, now that we know each other, you're free to go for the day. I want you to meet me here tomorrow at 6 A.M. Oh, and don't you dare be late" there was a dangerous glint in his eyes before he disappeared into thin air. Yu gulped.

"Heh, so, uh… do you guys want to hang around for a bit?"

"I'll pass" Kagerou said while walking away.

"Well, that leaves the two of us. Let's go and see if Tenten is free" Aya suggested. Yu quickly recovered from Kagerou's blunt rejection and nod happily.

As they walked through Konoha looking for Tenten, they spotted her with her team. She saw them too, waving enthusiastically in their direction. "Aya, Yu! Over here!"

The five of them entered a BBQ. After what seemed like a while of listening to Lee and Tenten's lively conversation and seeing Neji's disgusted face as Yu munched and talked at the same time offering an unsightly show, Aya looked at the clock and saw it was nearly eight. She dismissed herself halfheartedly. "Why so early?" asked Tenten. "Yeah, wiso urlie?" she sweat-dropped at Yu's bowling-ball-sized cheeks.

"I really wish I could stay longer, but tomorrow I also have to start my special training" she explained.

"Special training?" Tenten asked with a raised brow.

"The Hara clan's special training. It's something every member of the clan has to undergo, am I right?" all the eyes were now on Neji.

"Yes, you are" Aya said. She wasn't surprised that Neji knew about it. The Hyuuga and the Hara clans have been in fact pretty close, and she also knew a few things about them, like the cursed mark they put on every member of the Hyuuga branch family. It was something she knew her own father personally didn't approve of, but he certainly wasn't going to interfere with another clan's business just to express his opinion. And neither was she. "Well then, see you soon!" she gave them a small wave and headed to the Hara compound.

* * *

When she arrived home, she spotted her brother in the courtyard playing with his dog, both covered in dust. "Arata!" she called out to him. He looked over to where she was and his eyes lit up when he saw her. She sat down on the porch and he joined her, the dog wiggling his tail and barking at him.

"I'm all ears" he said, scratching his companion's head.

"Straight to the point, eh?" she laughed. "Well, I was put in a team with Yu and a certain Kita Kagerou."

Arata grimaced a little. "A Kita? That's gonna suck."

"Yeah, not exactly the nicest person alive… And my sensei is a certain Aragi Ryuuichi."

"Ryuuichi?! Are you serious?" Arata looked flabbergasted. "So he actually left ANBU to get a team" he looked ahead as the sun completely disappeared.

"You know him?" she asked with interest.

"Sure. He was the one I looked up to when I still was a genin. But when he entered the Black Ops I stopped seeing him since he was always busy. Maybe one day I'll tell how I met him" he explained. "Well, it's probably better if you go to sleep. Aoi isn't going easy on you just because you're Hara Kei's daughter." Her eyes widened.

"Aoi?"

"Well, yeah. I talked to our father, and convinced him to assign you Aoi as sensei. I thought this would be easier for you since you already know her well enough." She smiled at him.

"Thanks, Arata." He ruffled her hair. "Go and rest. Your training with Aoi starts tomorrow, and if it's Ryuuichi, then you might want to say a little prayer before you head to the training grounds" he laughed as she cringed slightly. "Well, I've got a mission in half an hour. See ya." He disappeared in a puff, leaving her with the barking restless dog. Aya sighed.

"How do you put up with him, Jun?"


	3. ３つ

**第****3****章**

**CHAPTER 3**

Jun opened the shoji to Aya's room and entered it, careful not to be loud. He walked to her futon and sat next to her head, studying her face. A trail of saliva was making its way out of her mouth and the cover was twisted in all the ways possible. Slowly, Jun got close to her face until the tip of his nose almost touched her cheek. He licked her face and she started to stir in her sleep.

.

.

.

"JUN! What do you think you're doing, covering my face in your smelly slime?!"

* * *

Aya made it to the training grounds when the sun wasn't even up yet. There wasn't trace of Yu, Ryuuichi or Kagerou, so she even thought that she was late and panicked when she thought about her sensei's words.

'_Oh, and don't you dare be late._'

Her worries subsided when she saw Kagerou approaching from afar, hand in pockets, her hood covering her eyes and her hair messy. She stopped a few feet away from Aya and they looked at each other. A faint wind played with their locks. "Good morning" attempted Aya. Kagerou dropped her bag and sat next to it while murmuring a '_yo_'. She rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn. A loud yell that sent several birds in the forest fly away from the trees startled the two of them. As the noise grew closer, Yu's figure emerged from the trees.

"Oi! Morning, team!" Aya and Kagerou sweat-dropped at the grinning girl bouncing in front of them, the first muttering a 'seriously now…', the latter mumbling something along the lines of 'morning people'. Yu focused her attention on her friend, eyeing her suspiciously. "Hey, Aya-chin. It's still five to six. How come you're here so early?" The girl blinked at her and looked at the sky thoughtfully. "I guess I should thank Jun when I go back home."

"Who's Jun?"

"Arata's _ninken_."

At the mere pronunciation of her brother's name, Yu started fidgeting with her thumbs. "Oh. I see."

Kagerou lifted a brow lazily. "You like the guy?" Yu didn't have the time to faint, for the wind started to form a swirl and raised the training ground's dust, causing them to cough. Their sensei stood now in front of them, hands crossed and a smirk on his face. "Show off" stated the Kita dully.

"So you're all here on time. Seems like I won't need this" he threw away the dagger he was holding and it puffed into smoke. Yu cringed dramatically. "'Kay, then. Today, you're going to take an ability exam so I can test your… well, abilities."

"Heh?" Yu blinked twice.

Ryuuichi massaged his eyes. "Let me explain, will ya, munchkin? So, the thing is simple. You just have to land a hit on me or harm me in any other way. You have two hours. If you don't succeed… well, you get sent back to the Academy." Their expressions were priceless.

"What do you mean, you old man?!"

"Who are you calling an old man?!"

"Will you two just shut the hell up and let us begin? I'd gladly go back to sleep." Kagerou's eyes bore holes into Yu and Ryuuichi's skulls.

The man straightened and cleared his throat. "It's ten past six. The time is over in exactly two hours. Begin." Aya and Yu disappeared from their spots, hiding respectively in a tree and behind a bush. Kagerou didn't move an inch. Her sensei raised a brow. "Aren't you going to hide?"

She smirked and removed her hands from her pockets. "Just wanted a first-hand experience of what a jounin is capable of."

He mirrored her expression. "What are you waiting for, then?" At this, Kagerou lunged forward and attempted a punch at her sensei, but he disappeared from her view a millisecond before she hit him. "Your speed's not bad. For a genin" he grinned at her pissed off face. She turned to face him and formed a tiger hand seal. Ryuuichi frowned at Kagerou's early usage of ninjutsu.

"Katon: kasai uzu no jutsu*!" a fire vortex erupted from her mouth and lunged towards him at great speed.

Aya and Yu gasped from their hiding spots. "That jutsu can't possibly be a D rank!" Aya said in awe.

Ryuuichi, however, dodged the attack almost effortlessly, the fire vortex reducing a good line of trees to charcoal. He looked from Kagerou to the collateral damage. "Well, _shit_." The genin, though, didn't look satisfied. She lunged at her sensei once again.

While the two of them were engaged in a taijutsu session, Ryuuichi not letting Kagerou touch him, Aya snuck from her hiding spot and took a kunai from her pouch. When she was just behind a small bush, she threw the kunai at Ryuuichi, hitting him right to the core. She gasped in disbelief and came out from behind the bush. "I did it!" she exclaimed as she made a victory stance. Their sensei, though, puffed away, leaving Aya and Kagerou dumbfounded. "GAAAH!" Aya fell on her butt as the real Ryuuichi pulled her hip-length hair from behind.

"Heh. Nice try, princess" he grinned at his outraged student. Kagerou scowled at his carefree attitude and walked up to him, until they were only two feet away from each other. He blinked at her enraged expression and didn't even notice when he started seeing stars. Thinking that Kagerou had slapped him, he looked at her flabbergasted, only to find her staring past his shoulder, her right eye twitching. Ryuuichi looked behind him and saw Yu grinning at him triumphantly, hand on hips. He rubbed the back of his head where Yu had hit him. "Seems like munchkin passes."

Aya looked at her friend like she had grown another head, and then at her sensei indignantly. "Seriously, Ryuuichi-sensei! What kind of former ANBU lets his guard down like that!"

He merely blinked at her. "How do you know I was in the ANBU?"

"Save the chatter for later. The clock's ticking" Kagerou stated as she threw aside her hoodie.

* * *

An hour later, Aya and Kagerou, both drenched in sweat, still hadn't landed a hit on Ryuuichi. Yu, who had made a trip to the dango shop, was now eating her thirteenth stick under a tree. Suddenly, the clock ringed, and the panting girls paled. Yu dropped the dango stick she was holding and ran up to Ryuuichi, who looked strangely solemn.

"Oi, Ryuuichi-sensei! Wait! There's no way that I can pass and they can't! My skills are nowhere near theirs! It was all luck! I mean, I can't even create a decent _bunshin-_"

"Shut up, munchkin. Rules are rules. These two couldn't even scratch me."

"But…" tears welled up in Yu's eyes as she looked at her teammates.

"Yu…" Aya looked pitifully at her friend's futile attempt to help them. Next to her, Kagerou's fists shook with boiling anger.

"You… It's absolutely impossible that I lose to someone like _you_!" she said through gritted teeth, launching herself at the petite girl. However, before her fist could connect with Yu's face, Aya caught her wrist tightly.

"Don't… don't you ever dare touch my friend" she stated darkly.

Kagerou smirked wickedly. "Or what?" she turned around and her foot connected with Aya's forearm.

"Hey, stop it you two-" Yu was cut off by Ryuuichi's hand on her shoulder.

"They're both pretty frustrated. Let them take five" he explained as the two of them watched the taijutsu session in front of them. "That's one hell of a taijutsu…" he added as he observed his two students.

Yu nod once. "They're both really good, but at the Academy, Aya was second in taijutsu only to Neji."

* * *

After several minutes, both Aya and Kagerou were panting heavily. In the end, Kagerou collapsed to her knees. "Do you guys feel better now?" asked their sensei as he approached them. The Kita girl hissed and got up shakily, then turned around and walked away without a word. Aya watched her teammate's back and then straightened up. Her navy blue t-shirt was drenched in sweat and her hair was plastered on her face. "You look gross" Ryuuichi mused.

"I know" he caught her as she fell unconscious, and then adjusted her on his shoulder.

"Munchkin, do you happen to know where Aya-hime lives?" Yu nod excitedly, her worry disappearing for the moment.

* * *

"So they ended up beating each other to a pulp, huh?" Arata asked his sister's sensei with a sigh.

"Yep. By the way, you did a fine job with her. I should've figured out earlier that she was your sister" Ryuuichi said as he got up from the bench in front of the Hara clan's head house.

Arata just smirked at his former idol. "We should catch up some day. I haven't seen you in ages."

"Sure. I was actually wondering what was up with you these days. I guess I shouldn't have had to worry about anything. Well, gotta go. I should meet up with a fellow in two" he waved once and puffed away.

Arata smiled to himself and made his way to Aya's shoji. He peeked inside and saw her sleeping soundly, her hair sprawled around her like tentacles. "You did well, Aya."

* * *

*_Fire release: fire vortex technique_


	4. ４つ

**orangenie:** _thank you so much for your support; I'm glad you like it :) _

**第****4****章**

**CHAPTER 4**

Ryuuichi ran along with Gai back to Konoha's gates after their fiftieth lap around the village. "So you have a Hyuuga on your team" he hinted at the topic of his interest.

"That's right. The one that impresses me the most, though, is Lee. I haven't seen so much youth in years!" he answered with his signature blinding smile.

Ryuuichi sweat-dropped. "Right… Say, how are the Hyuuga's skills?"

"Oh, Neji. He is indeed very skilled in taijutsu, not to mention that he has an impressive knowledge of his clan's techniques. Overall, I am satisfied of my genin!"

Ryuuichi nod thoughtfully as they reached the main street of Konoha. "I wish I could say the same. My team is quite skilled, but they're a disaster when it comes to teamwork" he sighed while scratching his head.

Gai rubbed his chin pensively. "We could fix that. Since my genin work fairly well together, we should see what we can do to put both teams on a mission. Maybe they can learn from each other."

Even though Ryuuichi didn't like the way Guy put it, which meant that his team had to learn from his fellow's, he had to admit that Guy's idea was quite good. He approved with a nod.

* * *

Yu stared dully at the television as Anko flipped through the channels. "Tch. There's nothing interesting" said the tokubetsu jounin as she finally turned off the device. She glanced sideways at Yu. "So, how'd it go?"

"She finally decided to ask…" Yu mumbled to herself.

"What was that?!"

"Nothing… I passed, by the way."

Anko looked at her, eyes wide in surprise. "You did?"

"What's so shocking about it?" Yu demanded with a pulsating vein. Anko was about to retort, when a knock at the front door startled the two of them. Anko went to answer.

"Ryuuichi? What are you doing here?" she asked confused.

"Hey. Is munchkin home?" he asked with a smile.

"Munchkin?"

"Ryuuichi-sensei!" Yu ran over to him.

"Oh. Speak of the devil. Listen here. I want you to go over to Aya's place and tell her she has another chance to prove me she's worthy of passing. I'm going to find Kagerou, somehow…" he explained.

"Are you serious? Ryuuichi-sensei, you're the best!" with that, Yu started to run towards the Hara compound and Ryuuichi puffed away.

Anko's eyes shifted from where the jounin previously stood and the direction her protégée went in with a puzzled expression. "What the hell?"

* * *

When she woke up, Aya didn't have the faintest idea what time it was, what planet she was on and how many fingers a human was supposed to have on each hand. A few seconds later, all this information returned to her mind in a blast, a nauseating headache tagging along. "This sucks…" The fusuma opened of about two inches and an eye peaked in. The fusuma then opened fully, revealing her brother in a loose black yukata.

"Yu's here to see you" he said casually, walking away while chewing on a manjū. When he was out of sight, Yu swiftly entered her room, closed the fusuma and sat next to Aya. Her face looked like she had gotten a severe sunburn. The Hara girl sighed in defeat. Yu will be Yu…

Said girl stared at her friend, excitement playing in her eyes. "He said my name!" she whisper-yelled.

"That he did" said Aya while sitting up straight and grimacing. Kagerou's taijutsu was fairly good due to her being naturally swift, but her blows lacked the necessary strength to actually inflict damage. Therefore, Aya didn't feel pain anywhere save her brain, which she guessed was going to pop any minute. She attempted to distract herself from the headache by striking a conversation with Yu. "So, is there something you wanted to tell me?" she asked while rubbing her nape.

"Oh, yeah! Ryuuichi-sensei passed by and told me to tell you that you and Kagerou have another chance to pass! Isn't that great?" Yu beamed.

Aya's eyes widened. "He did? But I thought he was a really strict man. I wander if there's something more to it…" her first guess was that Arata had yet again put in a good word for her, and she didn't like it.

"What do you mean? There's nothing suspicious about it. I'm sure he too realized that me passing and you two not is fishy."

"Yu, you're not as bad as you think. The truth is, before you smacked Ryuuichi-sensei in the test, I couldn't sense your chakra at all. I'm sure that's why you were able to get so close to him in first place" Aya assured her friend, a note of admiration not absent in her voice.

Yu blushed slightly. "Hehe. I actually do that quite often. It's one of the very few things I'm good at."

Aya smiled and got out of her futon. "Well, I'm going to take a bath and change. I'm still wearing the same clothes as this morning" she scrunched up her nose in disgust. "You're free to join me if you want."

Yu grinned and got up as well. "How can I refuse when your bathroom is so fancy?"

* * *

Gai stood in front of his team, hands on his hips, flashing them a huge smile. "I have an announcement to make. Tomorrow you will have your first mission! There is something you should know though. Team Ryuuichi will be joining us."

"Huh? How come?" asked Tenten in surprise.

Gai sighed dramatically, putting the back of his hand on his forehead. "It seems like they lack the necessary youth to get along. We shall give them a perfect example of teamwork! Consider this a double mission."

"What a horrible thing, to not get on with your own teammates!" stated Lee.

"I actually think I can understand them" said Neji with a deadpan face. Tenten chuckled next to him.

* * *

The Kita compound was a picturesque and eerie place. Misty mountains were painted on the walls and the family crest decorated their tops fiercely. Ryuuichi walked through the streets awkwardly, gaining either suspicious or appraising looks from the people he passed by. He finally stopped in front of an imposing house where a young woman with long, blonde hair was sweeping. He approached her cautiously. "Excuse me, miss. Do you happen to know where the clan's head's house is?"

She stopped sweeping and looked at him, a small smile on her lips. "You're standing right in front of it. Do you need to talk to my husband?"

Ryuuichi stared at her with wide eyes. This woman didn't look a day over twenty, yet she apparently was Kagerou's mother. He quickly recovered from his little shock and cleared his throat. "Actually, I'm Kagerou's jounin-sensei. I need to see her, if that's possible."

The woman's eyes lit up and she smiled widely. "But of course! Why don't you come in for some tea while I fetch her?"

"I… Yeah, why not" he followed her inside and sat at a low table while she prepared him some tea.

"So, how's my daughter doing?" she asked while pouring him a cup.

"I haven't got the opportunity to see all their abilities just yet, but Kagerou seems to have a natural talent for ninjutsu" he replied, sipping from his tea.

The woman seemed pleased with his answer. "That's good. I'm going to tell her you are here then" she sat up and headed for the stairs. "Kagerou-chan! Your sensei is here to see you!" Ryuuichi sighed in relief. That woman had a strange charm to her. He heard footsteps from the stairs again, and Kagerou emerged from behind the wall, her signature bored expression perpetually on her face. Ryuuichi frowned upon seeing a large band aid on her left cheek, but didn't comment on it.

She sat opposite to him and poured herself a cup of tea. "What do you want?" she mumbled sleepily, looking in her cup.

He smirked slightly. "Just came to inform you that I'm feeling altruistic these days. You and Aya-hime have another chance to pass."

This seemed to get her attention. She raised a brow at him, then frowned looking away. "I don't want your pity."

"It's not pity, it's recognition of your abilities. Munchkin knew how to use hers. You two didn't. But this doesn't mean your skills aren't worthy. Therefore, I'm giving you another opportunity to show me how much brains you have" he grinned at the last sentence. Kagerou and Aya were without a doubt more skilled than Yu, but their teammate had the intelligence to put the little skill she had to good use. Ryuuichi rose after taking the last sip of his tea. "Well, then. See you tomorrow, _Kagerou-chan_!" She shot him a deadly glare.

* * *

Aya waved at Yu as she walked out of the Hara compound. When Yu was out of view, Aya's smile fell. She turned around and headed to her room. She took off the yukata she was wearing and opened her wardrobe. She pulled out a white hakamashita and a pair of dark blue hakama. After putting them on, she pulled her hair in a high ponytail and went out, the sound of the geta she wore producing an echoing sound at every step she took. When she arrived in the courtyard, her hands started to sweat profusely. A few meters away from her stood Aoi herself, wearing an elegant kimono that gave her an innocent and delicate look. She smiled at her apprentice.

Aya bowed deeply in front of her. "Good evening, Aoi-shishou."

"Good evening. It has been a long time, hasn't it?"

Aya lifted her head and smiled at her cousin. "It has indeed."

"It is an honor to have you as my protégée, Aya. Today I would like to see what Arata has taught you until now." Aya mentally sighed.

Two tests in a day, great.


	5. ５つ

**第****5****章**

**CHAPTER 5**

Her forehead was beaded with sweat drops and her left leg was starting to tremble. She mentally hissed at her shaky vision. Aoi watched her with imperturbable blue eyes. Her back was starting to hurt and a feeling of nausea was slowly creeping in the back of her throat. She was obviously going to collapse at any moment.

"Hold it a little longer" Aoi instructed calmly.

The thought that her cousin was crazy crossed Aya's mind for a second. She wasn't feeling well to begin with and Aoi had noticed that without a doubt. Yet, she pretended not to see it and instructed her to stand on her left toes whilst holding her right ankle above her head with both hands. Easy, since she trained to be flexible since she was two years and a half old. Things got complicated only when Aoi decided to make her stay in that position for almost an hour, not to mention that she had handed Aya her ass in taijutsu previously.

The sound of approaching footsteps made Aoi mutter an inexpressive '_that's all for today_'. Aya lowered her leg and hobbled away pitifully.

Arata watched his sister as she threw up her guts in a nearby bush and narrowed his eyes. He then gave Aoi a side-glance.

"She's a little rusty" said his cousin without looking at him and ignoring his half-glare.

"She's just tired. She took her final test today and hasn't been feeling well since then" he was a little surprised by his own words. He wanted to respect Aya's wish by not butting in her training, but he found it really hard to suppress his natural protectiveness towards his little sister.

A small smirk crept on Aoi's face. "Then I'll just have to squash out her weaknesses" she turned around and started walking away, but, as on second thought, stopped and tilted her head to look at him for the first time. "I'm also going to have to change our training spot. We don't want you to obtrude every single time, do we?"

* * *

Kagerou woke up the next morning at the sound of knocking. "Come in…" she mumbled, still half asleep. The next thing she knew, Ryuuichi was towering over her with a grin, his arms crossed over his chest. She jolted out of bed in a blink.

"_What the hell_ do you think you're doing in my room, _you creep_?!" she yelled angrily.

"Hey, you said to come in" he shrugged innocently.

"I thought it was my mother, not you! What do you want, anyway?" she asked annoyed.

"Today you're supposed to try to pass my test, remember?" he smiled brightly.

"Oh, yeah. Get out and let me get ready, then" her gaze threatened him indirectly. He gulped and obeyed his pre-teen student.

Twenty minutes later, they were both skipping over the roofs of Konoha. They stopped in front of a plain door and Ryuuichi knocked loudly.

"If it's who I think it is, she's going to kill you" Kagerou deadpanned.

After a little while, the door cracked open slowly, revealing a dead-on-her-feet Anko. A dark gloom surrounded her as she stared deadly at the jounin-sensei.

"Ryuuichi… you better have a fucking good reason to wake me up at six o'clock on my free day."

The Kita girl felt sweat forming on her nape and started to worry about her sensei's life. '_That idiot! I even told him..!_'

"Now, now, Anko. Don't use that kind of language in front of children" he put up his hands.

Anko, however, wasn't having any of it and was about to kill him with her Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, hadn't it been for Yu, who walked over to them and tugged Anko's sleeve sleepily, distracting her enraged tutor.

"Huh? What is it, Yu?" asked Anko, as if out of a trance.

Ryuuichi grabbed her frail student's arms and hugged her tightly, rubbing his cheek against hers and crying copiously.

"Tch. Piss off, I'm going back to sleep" Anko closed the door, leaving the jounin with his two students startled.

Yu made a horrified face. "Anko! Wait! I'm still in my pajamas!"

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me."

Aya stood in the doorway as she looked at the three people in front of her. "Come" she finally gave in, allowing them to enter and waiting for them to remove their shoes. She guided them to a large low table and sat down. The tension between the Hara and the Kita was almost solid.

For the second time in one day, Yu saved the situation by looking at her friend with a slight blush and breaking the awkward silence. "Say, can I borrow some clothes?" Aya raised a brow but nod curtly. As Yu went to change, Ryuuichi explained why they were at her house. He had already told Yu and Kagerou on the way there.

"You look awful, though. Maybe you should just rest up-"

"So we're having a mission with team Gai. I'll go change too, then" she interrupted her sensei, rose and went to join Yu in her room. No long after, a pretty lady in a simple tomesode brought them some tea and then excused herself.

Kagerou narrowed her eyes in question. "Was that her mother?" she asked.

Ryuuichi's eyes lowered. He had noticed the woman's black eyes, and they were nothing compared to the bright, blue and infinite orbs of a certain someone he once knew very well.

"No. It wasn't."

* * *

Gai, Neji, Lee and Tenten were waiting for team Ryuuichi to show up at their training ground. When they did, Tenten was the first one to notice Aya's unusual paleness, while Neji glanced at her slightly limping left leg and bruises on her forearms, immediately guessing that she must have started the Hara training. She had dark circles under her eyes and she seemed completely out of focus.

Tenten walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Aya, are you sick or something? You look like you could pass out any second" she whispered concernedly, making sure nobody heard her besides Aya.

The Hara girl faked a smile. "Do I?"

Tenten was about to answer her, when Gai's loud and proud voice broke everyone's eardrums. "What are we waiting for, then? Let's go!"

"Ryuuichi-sensei, you still didn't tell us what our mission is!" Yu accused the jounin.

"You'll see when we get there" he started whistling and went after Gai.

* * *

"EH?!" Yu stuttered as they stood now at the feet of a high hill, where three wooden ramps connected the ground with the top. What shocked Yu was that at the feet of each ramp, there was a huge marble block which they were supposed to push to the top. "We just became genin! You two can't be serious!" she protested further.

"Those blocks are infused with chakra, which means that when you'll touch them, they will adjust to your strength and won't crash you in the way up" Gai explained reassuringly.

"Oh. Then why can't the workers do it?" Aya asked with a tinge of suspicion in her voice.

Ryuuichi smirked. "You'll find out very soon. Since there are three blocks, you have to work in pairs. Aya and Kagerou, you take the first one, Yu and Tenten, the second one and Neji and Lee the third one. Now, get to work."

The genin put their backpacks on the ground and headed to their assigned blocks. They put their palms on the marble almost hesitantly, but soon started to push. At first, it felt to them like pushing a hay bale, but on the way up, it started to get harder and harder, to the point that they were all sweating profusely.

Kagerou scowled and gritted her teeth. '_They tricked us!_' "Ryuuichi! What's the meaning of this?!" she yelled.

Said jounin just smiled at her and closed his eyes. "You see, we didn't tell you quite everything. Those blocks don't change their weight like you might've thought, but it seems to you so only because you get more and more tired. This means, the key for you to succeed is stamina. There is also one more thing. If any of you, for whatever reason, doesn't push with their maximum strength or stops pushing altogether, the block will be too much for your teammate and it will end up crushing them."

The genin widened their eyes in shock. The blocks pushed them back slightly.

"Don't get distracted!" instructed Gai, his thick eyebrows furrowed. "Hey, Ryuuichi. Isn't this a little too much for them?" he whispered, his eyes on the struggling kids.

"It's a perfect way to strengthen their teamwork. If they don't master it, it will result in great losses in the future."

Meanwhile, Aya felt like passing out due to her still fresh bruises and headache. The block pushed back on them. "Hey! Do you want to get us both killed?" snapped Kagerou, trying to resist the insane weight.

"I-I'm trying my best!" she hissed back.

"Aya! Kagerou! Stop bickering if you don't want to get reduced to a pulp!" Ryuuichi shouted. '_Those two… can't they at least try to get along in these situations?_'

Aya growled and pushed with her maximum strength. Kagerou did the same. They pushed the block until it even surpassed Neji and Lee by half a foot. The reason they suddenly advanced so quickly was probably because none of them wanted to lose to the other. They were almost to the top when Kagerou's foot slipped. It was a second. Aya stopped pushing, took Kagerou's hand and pulled the two of them on top of the block. It started to slide back down at great speed, resulting in both of them screaming like idiots while clinging onto each other. In the background, where the other four genin made it to the top, Yu and Tenten shouted something, Neji and Lee gaped, Gai started to speed towards Aya and Kagerou and Ryuuichi just stood there laughing his ass off. He then decided to follow the other jounin, but at a normal pace.

When the girls opened their eyes, they were at the feet of the hill once again.

"Well, well, well. _Now_ you hit the target" Ryuuichi stood in front of them with a smile.

"Oi! Are you two alright?" Yu slid the ramp on her butt, while the other three decided to take a more normal route.

Aya looked behind her, at the top of the hill, where the other two blocks stood. "What do you mean we hit the target? It looks to me like we're the only ones to fail" she almost pouted.

"You failed the mission, but you passed the test. Whoa" Ryuuichi caught her just before she hit the ground.

"I'm having a déjà vu…"


	6. ６つ

**第6****章**

**CHAPTER 6**

Gai easily pushed Aya and Kagerou's marble block to the top of the hill. Ryuuichi held Aya by the waist as he looked at the other five genin. "Gai and I have a mission in two, so we can't bring Aya-hime back to the village. Can you guys do it?"

Yu put up her hands. "Sorry, I have to go back to help Anko with something."

"I also have some chores to take care of" Tenten said apologetically.

"I've got an important meeting with my father to attend" said Kagerou, already starting to walk away.

"I will do it then!" said Lee excitingly, taking Aya's limp body from Ryuuichi. "Oh, how careless of me. I am afraid I do not know where she lives…"

Neji closed his eyes and sighed. "I'll do it, then. I happen to know where her house is" he said, taking the girl from Lee.

Gai made his 'nice guy' pose. "That's the spirit!" he and Ryuuichi ran off a second later, Yu following suit.

"Make sure to deliver her safe and sound, Neji!" Tenten waved and went after her friend.

* * *

Neji took his time walking back to the village, stealing glanced at Aya's face from time to time, as if looking for something in particular. He found her face strangely familiar, and he had the unsettling feeling that there was something he was forgetting, some kind of memory that was slipping from his mind. When he found himself in front of the Hara compound's main house's backyard, faint memories came flooding back to him as he observed the surroundings, taking in every single grass blade, every single tree. As his pale eyes wandered around the place, distracted by the futile attempts to make the little reminiscences he had take a more solid form, Neji didn't even notice the faint footsteps that were slowly approaching.

"Is that you, Neji-kun?" he turned around to find himself face to face with no one else than the Hara clan's head himself. The man's usually serious and solemn expression broke into one of mild surprise and interest.

"Kei-sama" Neji recognized him almost instantly, bowing his head slightly. He would have paid a bigger respect to the man, hadn't it been for Aya's body limiting his movements.

Kei motioned for Neji to sit down next to him on the porch. After calling for a maid to take Aya to her room, he turned his attention fully on the Hyuuga boy. "What happened?" he inquired.

"She fainted after we finished our mission. I was the only one available to bring her back."

"I see. Thank you for your help, then."

"It was nothing."

An abnormally comfortable pause followed, during which Neji listened to the famous Hara clan's nightingales' singing. It brought even more pieces of memories to his mind.

"It has been a long time" Kei spoke slowly, as if he was talking to himself.

Neji's eyes lowered. "I remember, even if just faintly…" he began.

"How… you and Aya played in this very backyard when you were little?" at Kei's words, Neji's memories finally took form and he put two and two together.

"I do" he whispered.

"Remember, Neji-kun, that even if my dear friend Hizashi is not here anymore, you are always welcome" Kei spoke carefully, knowing that for Neji, it was a highly sensitive topic. The boy just nodded, but Kei was able to see the conflict and sadness that his eyes held, a detail most people would've been unable to catch.

* * *

"You failed your first mission?" Arata watched her with a look of disbelief mixed with disappointment.

"I already told you, he said we failed the mission, since we didn't push the block to the top, but we passed the final exam" Aya explained with irritation, wincing as her brother bandaged the arm gash she received from Aoi that evening.

"And how did you exactly pass the exam?"

Arata's suspicious attitude was ticking her off. She sighed in exasperation. "The exam Ryuuichi prepared for me and Kagerou was all about teamwork. At a certain point I almost stopped pushing, and Kagerou put all her force in supporting the weight so it wouldn't crush us. Also, when we were near the top, her foot slipped and the block slid back. If I hadn't been there to catch her, she would've been done for."

"That sick bastard" Arata muttered with a grin.

"We all learned the importance of teamwork, though."

"Hey, Aya."

"Hmm?"

"Be careful with Aoi. She's more merciless than I thought" he said, narrowing his blue eyes as he scanned her bandaged arm.

"I'm alright! She's not supposed to go easy on me, after all."

But even as she smiled her gentle smile, Arata could only see the ghost of exhaustion in her every feature, and an unsettling feeling made its way in his gut, proving once again that Hara* was not just a name.

* * *

Anko and Yu were in the middle of the forest, sitting face to face. Yu's eyes were shut and her hands were forming a seal. When she opened her eyes, she saw Anko smiling at her. A not very common sight, in her opinion. "Your chakra control is surprisingly good, kiddo" she praised her.

Yu grinned. "You're taking me to the dango shop, then-OW!" she rubbed her head and growled at her tutor.

"All you care about is food!" Anko scolded her.

"I learned from a certain someone."

"Don't test my patience, kiddo." Yu gulped. The purple-haired kunoichi stared at her while tapping her chin, as if she was debating on something in her mind. "Say, have you ever thought about becoming a medical-nin?" she finally asked.

Yu's expression was one of pure confusion. "N-No… why are you asking?"

"As I already said, your chakra control is really good for a genin. You'll certainly improve with time, and that's perfect ground for a medical formation. I'll talk to Ryuuichi and tell him to work on your defense. I have a feeling you'll need it very much in the future."

Yu raised a brow and scratched her nape. "You know, if I were you, I wouldn't trust myself with other people's lives."

* * *

Aya sat in front of Aoi, who had a large wooden box in front of her. She pushed it towards Aya. "It is time you start integrating the clan's traditions in your habits. These are your new everyday clothes" she explained.

Aya opened the box. A variety of hakama, yukata, haori and tabi was staring back at her, ready to place her common garments. "Thank you" she said with a small smile.

"Your geta and zōri are in the hallway. I wish you a good night" Aoi rose and left Aya with her new 'wardrobe'.

She couldn't express the delight she was feeling. After years of observing the other clan members in their elegant kimonos and intriguing kamon printed on the back of their haori, Aya finally felt like an actual part of her family. She went to the backyard and sat on the porch, looking around aimlessly.

"Have you finished your training with Aoi?" she turned around startled. Her father sat next to her.

"Father. Yes, I have. She came back to give me my new clothes" she clarified.

"I see. Aya, do you know who brought you back home this morning?" he asked.

She studied his face, sensing that there was something off about the way he spoke. "Was it Ryuuichi-sensei?" she asked tentatively.

Kei shook his head. "No. It was Neji-kun" he replied with a dead voice.

* * *

_The sun warmed gently the spring air, making it the perfect weather to enjoy a stroll in the middle of nature. Two four-year-olds were playing tag in a field of wildflowers, while two adults observed them from afar. "I'm tired, Neji!" the little girl whined as she fell on her butt. Neji looked back and sighed, making his way next to his friend and sitting down next to her. "Sit here and I'll make you a flower crown!" she beamed._

_Neji sweat dropped. "I'm not a girl, Aya."_

_She rubbed her chin in thought. "Let me braid your hair, then!"_

"_That's for girls too!"_

_Aya pouted. "You're so boring, Neji! Why weren't you born a girl?" _

_Hizashi and Kei laughed as their kids continued to bicker. Aya tickled Neji to the ground and he let out a loud yelp. "They always fight, yet they can't go a day without seeing each other" Hizashi mused. _

_Kei just chuckled in response. Aya came running to her father, a simple wildflower crown in her hands. Neji followed behind her, stopping next to his father. "Father, I made this for you!" she stretched her hand, trying to put it on his head. "I can't reach you! I'm too small!" she puffed her cheeks._

_Hizashi smiled, his eyes watching the little girl warmly. "She's cute, isn't she?" he whispered in his son's ear. Neji nodded once, a faint blush dusting his cheeks._

* * *

_* . /blog/article/the_deeper_meaning_of_hara_


	7. ７つ

**第****7****章**

**CHAPTER 7**

_A few months later…_

The birds sang quietly and the sun warmed the air as it rose higher and higher. It was a peaceful morning, yet a certain training ground didn't seem to enjoy it as the rest of the village.

_The day before…_

"_Chuunin exams?" Yu asked confused. _

"_It might kill you to try, but shut up for a change" Ryuuichi retorted. _

"_Oi! That's like, so unprofessional!" _

"_SHUT UP!" Yu and Ryuuichi both gulped upon seeing Aya's pissed off expression. The lack of sleep and stress added an even more dangerous aura to the girl. _

"_Aya-chin, you're so scary!" Yu sniffed. _

"_Ryuuichi, you were saying?" Kagerou, who observed the entire exchange while trying to keep her cool, spoke up for the first time, clearly impatient to know more about whatever the jounin was trying to tell them. _

"_Right, the chuunin exams. As I was about to explain" and here he shot a glare in Yu's direction "they are drawing near. Being the jounin-sensei responsible of this team, I had a choice to either recommend you or not. I didn't. Your teamwork is practically just a hair above crap-level, not to mention that there is a certain someone here that could activate their Kekkei Genkai at any moment. I can't let that happen without proper supervising."_

_All eyes were on Aya. They probably put two and two together, since Yu wasn't from a clan and the Kita were known for their hiden techniques. _

"Eighty percent of the fault is technically yours" Kagerou said.

Aya scowled. "Well, sorry for being born a Hara. I don't agree with him either, but if he doesn't recommend us, it doesn't matter anymore what we feel like doing."

"Guys, we have a mission in five. I don't think that arguing is what we should do right now…" Yu sweat dropped.

"You two really are a handful" a voice behind them sighed. Ryuuichi stood on a tree branch in a squatting position. "Come on. We have to meet up with our client at the gates."

"Good morning!" a lively old lady greeted them with a large smile. The man next to her merely nodded in acknowledgement. They were both wearing fine clothes, Kagerou noticed, so they must've been wealthy civilians.

"Good morning, Kohaku-san, Minoru-san. These are my subordinates, Aya, Yu and Kagerou" the girls bowed their heads as Ryuuichi introduced them. "They came to visit Konoha for their fortieth anniversary. We have to escort them back to the Land of Rivers" he informed the genin.

"If we're done with the formalities, we can go, Ryuuichi-san" the old man said impatiently.

Kohaku elbowed her husband in the ribs. "Be polite, Minoru!" she scolded him.

"Let's go then!" Ryuuichi cried.

After walking on the same path for about an hour, Yu couldn't continue to keep her mouth shut anymore. So she got closer to her teammates, until the three of them walked behind the old couple, their sensei leading the way. "Say, guys. Did you notice what I noticed, too?" she whispered.

"If you're talking about Ryuuichi's pitiful attempt to grow a beard, then yes" Kagerou said monotonously, kicking a pebble that happened to be in her way.

Aya sighed. "It's not a beard, it's a stubble. Arata invited him over about a month ago. I think he convinced him that it gives a more… manly look, or something along those lines" she made a face.

Yu hummed in appreciation. "He does look good, though" she wiggled her eyebrows.

Kagerou grimaced. "You're thirteen, you weirdo. He could be your father."

"I was just joking!"

"Oh, right. I forgot you like Aya's brother." A pregnant pause followed shortly. "I finally found your off button."

* * *

Aya stood on the balcony of the ryokan they were staying at, contemplating the myriad of stars that graced the sky that night. Cicadas also seemed to have decided to give them a little concert. Lost in thoughts, she didn't even hear the shoji slide open.

"Can't sleep?" Kagerou asked. Aya shook her head. "That makes two of us" she sat next to her in a seiza position, since she was wearing the yukata the ryokan offered them for the night. Dressed like that, Kagerou looked surprisingly more ladylike, and she seemed to master those gestures if she wanted to. Aya knew that being a clan's head's daughter brought those obligations. "I wanted to ask you something" the Kita said seriously, looking down at the koi fishes swimming in the pond under the balcony.

"Go ahead."

Kagerou eyed her prudently, as if pondering her words with care. "How come your Kekkei Genkai seems to be such an off-topic?"

Aya stayed silent for a while before replying. "Saibou undou*. That's my clan's Kekkei Genkai. To put it simply, people don't really talk about it anymore because the number of individuals awakening this ability is lower and lower every generation. Let's just say, they know it's a sensitive topic" she smiled bitterly.

"So you're saying that there's a chance you might not awaken it yourself" Aya was taken aback by Kagerou's straightforward approach once again.

"Yes."

"This Kekkei Genkai of yours must be a creepy sight to see, by the way."

Aya laughed genuinely. Strange enough, even Kagerou knew how to enlighten the mood. "You have no idea."

* * *

"You two look like you've been on drugs" Ryuuichi muttered.

"Same goes for you, you hobo."

"Oi, you should respect your superiors, kiddo."

"I would, if you wouldn't take the liberty to sneak in my room almost every morning."

Yu gasped. "Ryuuichi-sensei! People would take you for a pedophile for doing that!"

"She makes it sound a lot worse than it actually is!"

The sound of someone clearing their throat made all of them jump in surprise. Minoru stood in the doorway, his wife waving gently from behind him. Ryuuichi scratched his head. "Heh, I guess we can set off."

After leaving the ryokan, the landscape started to change gradually as they travelled further, until they came face to face with a forest. Ryuuichi warned them to stay close to each other and keep their guards up. Adventuring in an unknown forest never came without its risks. By the time of nightfall, they were still in the middle of a sea of trees, and the jounin knew the two old people needed their rest. The only problem was, he couldn't find a clearing to make camp in. The trees were so close to each other that a single person could barely pass, and their foliage was so dense that not even a little light could leak in. Ryuuichi stopped and turned around, causing the others to halt. "All right. Seems that we can't find a decent place to rest, so we'll have to make this trees do. Is that ok with you?" he asked, his question meant more for the couple than for his subordinates.

Kohaku laughed giddily. "That's no problem at all! Harsh conditions are the norm for us, anyway!" Kagerou's eyes narrowed slightly before meeting Ryuuichi's. He gave the genin a subtle nod, which the three of them returned. Aya, Yu and Kagerou jumped in the nearest tree, followed easily by Kohaku, while Ryuuichi and Minoru stayed on the opposite tree. Kagerou's suspicion only grew at the easiness with which the two old people were jumping. However, one thing was certain: they weren't mere civilians as they wanted Ryuuichi and the genin to believe. Aya watched Kohaku from the corner of her eye. Yu was currently looking for something in her backpack, completely leaving her guard down. Kagerou smirked and leaned against the tree trunk. '_She's not as stupid as she lets out._' Kohaku took that as an opportunity to strike. Just as she stabbed her kunai in Yu's back, the girl puffed away, resulting in the old woman piercing the weapon in the backpack. "Shit! They cornered me!" she hissed.

"That's not considered the proper language for an old lady" Aya said from behind her.

Kohaku swirled around, facing the girl and tightening her grip on the weapon's handle. "And what would a little brat like you know?" she spat.

"Well, you see" Kagerou said from an above branch, swirling a kunai on a finger "Aya and I are technically nobility, so we'd know" she jumped off, forcing Kohaku to clash kunai with her.

On the other branch, Minoru was being handled by Ryuuichi. '_Everything going as planned, for now_'.

However, just a genin wasn't enough to fight the old woman. That's what Aya learned when Kohaku charged towards her with killing intent after knocking Kagerou's kunai out of her hand. Her first reaction was obviously to dodge, but somehow, she found herself unable to move. Her limbs were like paralyzed. '_What's happening to me? Why can't I move?_'

"Aya-hime! Move out of her way!" Ryuuichi shouted, knocking Minoru out with his elbow. '_This escalated too quickly!_'

"I can't move!" she yelled back, her eyes fixated on the woman that was now less than 10 feet away from her. Aya closed her eyes, waiting for the irreversible impact. Yu screamed, and Kagerou moved forward.

A dull sound echoed through the forest. The kunai stabbed in the tree trunk behind Aya, and Kohaku widened her eyes. "What is-" she fell to the ground, dead. A perfect silence followed, and no one out of the four conscious people on the tree branches dared to utter a word for a few moments.

Kagerou took a step back and eyed Aya appraisingly, not really minding the blood that was tickling from her fingers. "Wow. It really is creepy."

When she finally opened her eyes again, the Hara girl realized why everyone seemed so astonished by looking down at her abdomen, where she felt a strange sensation. Ryuuichi moved on her branch, still not averting his eyes from the anomaly in front of him. "Aya-hime, you've activated your Kekkei Genkai."

* * *

_*Cell motility_

* * *

**A/N:** Ugh, this took ages to post... I apologize for the confusion at the end of the chapter, guess it can count as a species of cliffhanger :P. However, things will be explained in the next chapter, so stay tuned! We're going to see Neji some more~


	8. ８つ

**第****8****章**

**CHAPTER 8**

"I am truly proud of you." This is how Hara Kei reacted when he found out that his daughter had activated the Saibou Undou. Aya had never seen her father so pleased about something she'd achieved. She even got close to crying when he embraced her genuinely in front of the elders, not caring about the proper etiquette. They congratulated her one after one, recommending her to train as much as possible. When she finally got away from them, she found Arata waiting for her outside. He brought her to a forest outside of Konoha, giving only vague answers every time she asked where they were going.

"Ok, we're here" he stopped in a small clearing, where the sun was lighting the area gently. "Now, close your eyes." A small smile played at the corners of her lips, already sensing that she was going to enjoy whatever he had prepared for her. She felt him take her right wrist and pull up the sleeve of her blue yukata.

"Here. You can open them." A string of red, small beads was wrapped several times around her wrist, forming a thick bracelet.

"Arata… isn't this yours? I saw you always wearing it when I was little."

"That's right" he nodded "but I don't need it anymore now. This bracelet is infused with our ancestors' chakra. It helps you regulate yours so that the Saibou Undou doesn't go out of control" he explained.

"What does that mean?" she raised a brow.

"Well, not to scare you or anything, but there have been several accidents involving our Kekkei Genkai. Some of those who had just activated it didn't know how to control it, and terrible things happened to them" he narrowed his eyes at her. "That's way is better if you don't take it off until Aoi teaches you how to handle it yourself."

Aya gulped nervously. "What kind of… terrible things?"

Arata looked up at the sky and made a face. "Well, they say one of them was once in danger and didn't have control over his ability. His cells went crazy and divided, until he literally dissolved."

Ok, so it was better if she kept it after all. "Oh. Thank you, then."

"No prob. By the way, I want you to know that father isn't the only one proud of you" he smiled, taking in her overall appearance. "Your muscles are stronger and more flexible, your stamina improved and you're also slightly taller. You overcame the initial difficulties of the first level of training and, thanks to Ryuuichi, you learned to always put your hair up." She grinned at that, remembering how her sensei had pulled her hair the day of the test. "Still, you'll never lose that baby face of yours" he sighed in mock disappointment.

"Oi! It's not my fault, I was born with it!" she protested, self-conscious about her round face and large eyes.

"It's cute. You must've inherited it from our mother."

They remained silent for a few moments, listening to the rustling leaves in the wind. "Promise me you'll tell more about her, one day" she said quietly.

Arata nodded and started to walk back to the village. "I promise."

* * *

Yu and Kagerou were waiting for their other teammate at their usual meeting point: the BBQ. Even after months of going on missions together, during which they learned not to hate each other anymore, Yu and Kagerou were still pretty distant from each other, hence the awkward quietness. The hyper girl, in an attempt to ease the air, leaned in and whispered in Kagerou's ear: "I think I know why Aya-chin's late. She's probably with Neji."

Kagerou choked on her own saliva. The way Yu broke news of questionable credibility out of nowhere never ceased to surprise her. "And what makes you think that?" she asked. Usually, she wouldn't have encouraged Yu's gossiping, but she found herself particularly bored today. Also, the topic was quite interesting.

"You know, I occasionally eat at her place. Well, lately, Neji's always been there too."

Kagerou didn't exactly know what to think. It was, in fact, pretty strange that the Hyuuga prodigy visited their teammate so often. Her eyes fell unintentionally on the entrance, where a small group of people were now standing. "Speak of the devil" she muttered monotonously.

Yu turned around to look in that direction. Team Gai and Aya were making their way in the BBQ. A pair of blue eyes scanned the place quickly, until they fell on the two girls. "Hey, guys. I ran into them on my way here. They can join, right?" she didn't exactly wait for their approval, as they were already sitting.

The blonde didn't even bother to greet the group. Yu, on the contrary, nodded excitedly. "Of course! The more, the merrier!"

"I can feel so much youth right now! Don't you, Lee?"

"Yes, Gai-sensei!"

As Gai and Lee continued to shout to each other about youth, probably unaware that half of the people in the BBQ were staring at them, Neji tried to ease the awkwardness by speaking about something more normal. "Aya, is your team participating in the chuunin exams?"

That took Kagerou and Yu's attention too. The Hara girl looked at her teammates before answering. "Eh… actually, Ryuuichi-sensei didn't recommend us."

Team Gai looked genuinely surprised. "He didn't? And why's that?"

Tenten's question was answered by a very pissed off Kagerou. "To quote him roughly, our '_teamwork is practically just a hair above crap-level_'". She then added something along the lines of 'damn idiot' under her breath.

"You still have that problem?" Neji looked at them with a raised brow, not bothering to hide the tinge of superiority in his tone.

"You seem to get along pretty well, though" Lee mumbled, looking at the three girls sitting opposite to him.

Yu's head hung dramatically. "We do. Ryuuichi-sensei just doesn't think the same."

"Well, if that makes you feel better, we aren't participating either" Tenten gave them a small smile.

Kagerou looked positively taken aback. "You aren't? Why?!" The fact that they had the possibility to get to the next level, and they refused it, only angered her further.

"We want to get stronger. Since we don't know what the exams could bring, we want to be prepared for everything they might throw our way" Neji explained matter-of-factly.

That made the Kita shut up immediately, looking down at her clenched fist.

'_Am I… not strong enough?_'

* * *

She unbounded her hair from the tight bun, letting it fall over her back. It also sprawled on the floor, making it seem even longer from the way she sat in front of the wooden mirror. She proceeded with combing it, carefully detangling any knots.

"I'll never understand this tradition of the Hara clan" two pale eyes stared at her back lazily, observing her every movement.

She turned her head slightly and smiled a bit. "The love for every form of beauty has been running in our family since its very birth" she explained. "It's not necessarily important to do it, it's just a habit."

"From what little I've seen though, only women seem to follow it" Neji leaned against the wall, a cup of tea in one hand.

A wholehearted laugh escaped from her as she continued with washing her face in the small wooden bowl. "The men don't do this kind of things. Arata says it would lower their masculinity. I can't really understand though, since they grow their hair like women."

"I beg to differ. Long hair is seen as a sign of virility, so it's only natural for true men to grow theirs."

She could see him behind her in the mirror, at the other side of the room. He seemed almost relaxed, looking out at the dawning sun. In the past months, since the day Neji had brought her home after she passed out, faint memories of the times they passed together as children came flowing back to her. They had grown so much, it was now almost impossible to be familiar with each other the way they were back then. His father's death had had a strong impact on their relationship. Still, Aya was thankful that they started to at least talk again like some sort of close friends, even if the Hyuuga boy had changed dramatically over the years. Her father had talked to her about what had happened before Hizashi's death, and how Neji's hate for the Hyuuga main house had matured. She didn't question any of his beliefs, knowing fully that she was not in the place to lecture him about 'forgiveness' and 'love for your own family'.

"I should go. See you tomorrow" with a last glance her way, he left the candlelit room.

* * *

**A/N: **Yo guys! Another couple of chapters and the story moves on to Shippuden!


	9. ９つ

**第****9****章**

**CHAPTER 9**

The wind blew violently against the two forms that were facing each other, making their kimonos waver and blowing away an occasional leaf from its branch. It was late autumn, and the grey clouds threatened the humans below to bring a great storm. That, however, didn't stop Aoi and Aya from their training.

"I will tell you why you couldn't get out of your assaulter's way on your last mission" the older Hara spoke steadily, but her blue eyes were framed by two black brows knitted together. "It was because you are a coward." Her younger cousin's eyes widened silently. She was probably wondering what she meant by that, so Aoi continued with her explanation. "Your enemy was releasing a powerful killing intent. The killing intent is simply the user exuding pure killing intention, and having it affect their opponent up to the point of paralyzing them with fear. When the killing intent is particularly strong, it can even give the victim visions of their own death. However, it mustn't be confused with genjutsu. In fact, it isn't a technique at all" she explained to her apprentice, whose cheeks were currently bright red in shame. "It is normal to react that way when you are a genin. But don't worry, I did promise to squash out all your weaknesses, after all." Aya looked up at her with sad eyes, and Aoi sensed that there was something wrong. "What is it?"

Her cousin looked down at her zōri as if trying to avoid her gaze, but answered nonetheless. "I tried to ignore it. I really tried to. But every time I go to sleep or I wake up, it's always with the image of that woman being killed right in front of my eyes. And every time I wonder if their deaths could have been avoided."

Aoi closed her eyes in understanding. She wasn't going to tell her some bullshit along the lines of 'we're shinobi, this is our job' or 'just stop thinking about it'. No, she was her shishou, and she knew perfectly how the human mind worked. "For some" she started "witnessing their first murder is a particularly shocking experience. The only thing that can help you right now is to think that it was either her or you, as rough as it may sound." Aya nodded slowly, still not lifting her gaze off the ground. "If that was all, then we shall commence the second level of training."

They stood right next to a small spring near the Hara compound. Aoi told her that she was supposed to float on the water until the next morning, and using her chakra to avoid being carried away by the stream. "The temperature of the water here varies from 7 to 10°C* around this time of the year. This exercise is good for improving both your chakra control and your resistance."

'_Someone tell me she's just kidding around_' Aya internally screamed as she already felt her limbs freeze at the sole thought of spending the whole day and night in that water. At Aoi's sign, she started taking off her clothes, until she remained in her white juban. Just when she was about to step into the freezing water, a familiar voice startled her from behind.

"I apologize for interrupting" she turned around to see Neji approaching.

"I was wondering when you would show up" Aoi stated boringly. "Did you need something?"

Neji bowed his head lightly. "I was wondering if it would be alright for me to join this exercise, Aoi-san."

Aya's mouth fell agape as she looked at her cousin, who looked slightly surprised herself. She expected her to say no, since this was part of the Hara training and only the members of the clan could undergo it, but strange enough, the girl smirked to herself and started walking away. "Go ahead. This will be quite an interesting way to see the quality of the Hyuuga genes."

When Aoi was out of sight, Neji started to take off his shirt. Aya had to suppress a squeal of embarrassment and looked away, slowly starting to adjust her feet to the water. She leaned down until her back touched the chilly surface. By this time, she was biting on her lower lip so hard that it almost drew blood. '_Must… resist-_' "AH!" her eyes shot open with a yelp at the feeling of a warm hand enveloping hers.

"Calm down, or you'll lose concentration" Neji was floating next to her with his eyes closed and a serene expression on his face. She couldn't help the heat from expanding onto her cheeks. Since Neji had taken her hand in his, she adjusted better to the freezing water. '_That's it! The chakra exchange between us produces heat._' She closed her eyes too and they stood like that for the following 24 hours, concentrating on their chakras.

"Why did you want to do it too, Neji?" Aya asked at some point.

His reply left her with something to reflect on for the rest of her life.

"When we were little, we held our hands for fun. Now, we hold them to become stronger."

* * *

The next day, a certain training ground was occupied by three individuals. Among them, Yu was panting heavily, so heavily that her lungs felt like they could pop at any minute. Ryuuichi stood in front of her with a grin on his face and his arms crossed. "Seems like Anko was right, munchkin. You really do have potential for becoming a medical-nin."

She looked at him with half-lidded eyes before collapsing on the grass. Her sensei's orbs travelled along the form of the tree Yu walked on. It didn't have a single scratch, which meant that her chakra control was the best out of his three students. The reason she passed away, though, was that Kagerou had challenged her in a taijutsu session, which she clearly lost. The blonde was currently having a nap with her back leaned against the poor tree that had a scratch at every inch along its trunk. Kagerou's control over her chakra was obviously not as amazing as her teammate's. At some point, she had gotten so frustrated with her constantly failing attempts that she had momently given up.

"I wander what Aya-hime is doing…" Ryuuichi muttered as he looked up at the midday sun, covered almost completely by grey clouds. Little did he know that his third student was currently shivering like an aspen leaf.

* * *

"Alright, so the Hyuuga genes are not half bad" Aoi muttered as she compared the two thirteen-year-olds in front of her. One of them (Aya), was about to pass out, while the other one (Neji), was barely trembling and trying to contain his teeth from chattering. '_She's still alive, though. That's more than enough to pass this phase'_ Aoi thought dully.

In the end, Neji ended up carrying Aya back to her house again, since Aoi didn't show any signs of wanting to help. On the way back, she made sure he understood the circumstances. "I let you join this phase only to satisfy my curiosity. From now on, Aya's training is strictly off limits to everyone besides me, understood?"

Neji nodded once, his hand clasping Aya's wrist around his neck, while his other arm supported her weight by the waist.

When he put her down on her futon, he could hear her murmur a 'thanks' before dozing off. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he pulled the blanket onto her. "No problem."

The sound of someone clearing their throat caught him off guard. He looked up to see a dominating-looking Hara Arata in the doorway, a brow raised lazily as his gaze travelled between Neji and Aya. "Dinner is ready. Just let her sleep and come eat with us."

Neji was positively surprised at the offer. Usually, he would stay for dinner only if Aya was there too.

"Oh, and put your shirt back on, Hyuuga" Arata added menacingly before walking away, leaving the poor boy unaware of the light pink tint present on his face as he realized that Aya had nothing on other than her juban. He complied her brother's order right away.

A little while later, a powerful storm broke out, forcing Neji to pass the night at the Hara compound.

* * *

_*45-50°F_


	10. １０つ

**第****10****章**

**CHAPTER 10 **

The following day, a certain Hyuuga woke up with a startle at the sound of several nightingales' singing, wondering why he wasn't in his own futon. As soon as the question rose in his mind, the answer popped up out of nowhere. The events of the previous day unfolded themselves in front of his eyes, and he immediately felt like he was having a hangover. With a soft groan, Neji rolled out of the neat futon and waited for his vision to clear. Alright, so maybe Aoi's training didn't give side effects right on the spot, but rather after several hours or on the long run, depending on the exercise. His muscles felt sore and a headache was threatening to hit at any moment. Remembering with a certain delight that he was no longer allowed to attend Aya's training, he mentally sent the girl his best regards. '_I hope she doesn't die in the process_' Neji sighed as he slid open the fusuma of the guest's room.

He was very much surprised to find out that he'd woken up at nearly midday. It was his luck that Gai had given their team the day off. When he walked down the empty and quiet hallway and then knocked on Aya's fusuma, he received no reply. Since he wanted to finally go home but deemed it rude to leave without first bidding goodbye, he slid the wooden frame ever so slightly so he could peak inside and see if she was asleep or wasn't there to begin with. With no little curiosity, he found out it was the latter. He would've bet that she would be sleeping for a much longer time than him, but since she seemed to be nowhere in the surroundings and the same appeared to go also for her brother and father, he left, somewhat perplex.

* * *

Aya had woken up a lot earlier than she had expected. Something had been hunting her thoughts for a while, so she decided to go and seek an answer from the only person that could give it to her. After all, if she was disturbed by the fact that she assisted a killing, how did the person that actually did it feel? So there she was, at the Kita compound, 'peacefully' sipping tea face to face with no other than the clan's heiress herself.

Kagerou put her cup down firmly. "I didn't exactly 'feel' anything" she said "when you find yourself in a life or death situation, the adrenaline rush thinks for you. You don't have time to weight down your actions on the spot."

Aya stared at her twiddling thumbs with a pensive expression. "Then let me rephrase my question. What did you feel when you came back home, went to bed, and then gradually realized that you'd just killed a person for the first time?" her eyes bore into Kagerou's with powerful determination.

Said girl didn't look away when she spoke again. "That's… a totally different question" she whispered. "You know, we got all that psychological training at the Academy" Aya was about to interrupt her and say that theory and first-hand experience were very far away from each other "it's all useless bullshit." Ok, so they seemed to think alike when it came to that. Aya then looked at her with a look that said 'So?'. Kagerou sighed and folded her arms. "They were spies, Aya. I would feel a lot worse if I would've let her kill you instead."

It was then that she realized that, in fact, she was alive only because Kagerou had killed Kohaku. "I… owe you a lot."

A light scoff. "Damn right you do. I'll let you know if I need anything." It seemed like their teamwork still needed a little polishing.

* * *

When Ryuuichi came out of the Hokage's office, he found Gai waiting for him outside, an unusual solemn expression on his face. "What did Hokage-sama decide?"

Ryuuichi sighed and looked up at the sky, squinting his eyes. He did that a lot when he was in thought, nervous or irritated. "The two spies were from Takigakure. Their target was Hara Aya, bearer of the Saibou Undou. However, they were unaware of the fact that when we took off from Konoha, she hadn't awakened her Kekkei Genkai yet. They aimed for her because she was supposedly unexperienced and an easy target, since they wanted to come in possession of the Saibou Undou" He recited part of his report in a bored tone. "But they're dead now, so Aya-hime is out of harm" he stretched his arms over his head lazily. '_I haven't slept in two days… I should hit the sack soon_'. After dismissing himself with a nonchalant wave, Ryuuichi went straight home to do just what he had in thought.

* * *

Neji was walking down the main road of Konoha, heading back home, when a familiar voice made him stop in his tracks and turn around. "Neji!" Tenten was running towards him and waving. She stopped in front of him and put her palm on her knees, catching her breath. "I spent all morning looking for you! Where have you been?"

"I… had a couple of things to take care of."

Tenten raised a brow at his vague answer, but waved it off. "I ran into Gai-sensei and Lee earlier. He said we have an important mission tomorrow. Team Ryuuichi is coming with us."

Neji's brows raised lightly in surprise. "Is that so?" he asked. "Well, if that's everything, I'm going to go home now" he turned around to leave, but Tenten grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.

"By the way, don't think I haven't noticed. You like Aya, don't you? Apparently you're spending an awful amount of time with her" she grinned mischievously.

That question caught Neji totally off guard. "Whatever would make you think such a thing? We're just childhood friends."

Tenten hummed skeptically. "You acted almost like you didn't know each other at the Academy, though."

Neji closed his eyes with an irritated frown. "Tenten, my past with Aya doesn't concern you" he snapped. Upon seeing her determined face, however, he knew that the energetic girl wasn't going to let it slide. He exhaled audibly. "We were just toddlers when we stopped seeing each other. As time passed, we both started to forget about the times we spent together. That's why the only interaction between us was taijutsu sparring when we still were in the Academy. We just started to catch up lately." Now, that was an answer that seemed to satisfy his gossiping teammate. "If you would excuse me, now."

Tenten, however, wasn't fully convinced with the 'just catching up' part. Not at all, in fact. She wanted to investigate, and if doing it alone would be boring, than she knew the perfect person to go to and ask to be her partner in crime.

* * *

"Of course I will!" Yu shouted, punching the air in excitement.

"You're the best, Yu!" Tenten tackled her.

"Those two aren't keeping it a secret for too long! But- how are we going to operate?" came Yu's muffled voice from Tenten's tight embrace.

Releasing the frail girl from her death grip, Tenten tapped her chin with a finger, thinking of a potential plan. "Hmm… I haven't thought about that yet" she admitted.

"Hey!" Yu chimed happily. "We have a mission tomorrow, don't we?" When Tenten nodded with a curious expression, she continued exposing her apparently brilliant idea. "We should make them stick together as much as possible, so that if they find themselves in a dangerous situation- BAM! Neji will go berserk and protect Aya-chin with all his might!" she was so engrossed in her speech, she didn't even notice her elbow hitting a flower pot and sending it crashing to the floor.

"What the hell was that?!" came Anko's voice from her bedroom.

"Uh-oh. Uh… nothing! Don't worry about it!" Yu shouted back while desperately trying to clean up the mess. Tenten sighed and helped her restless friend, but in her mind, she was already developing Yu's plan. It could seem a little crazy to intentionally put their teammates in danger just to see if they had taken a liking in each other romantically, but it wasn't a bad idea. Neji and Aya were the strongest in their respective teams. Also, Gai and Ryuuichi would be there should anything happen.

"You know, we should totally try it out" Tenten said after throwing the broken pot in the garbage.

Yu grinned, her eyes twinkling insanely. "Yes! I can already picture them holding hands and going on dates!"

Tenten smirked slightly in response. "I'm not so sure about that, since they don't exactly look like the romantic types, but they would make a perfect couple."

Let Operation '_Getting the Hyuuga prodigy and the Hara clan head's daughter together_' begin.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry for the long wait! Also, I must've been drunk when I said that the story would move to Shippuuden in a couple of chapters... What I meant was that the story moves at the beginning of the series, which means the day naruto graduates from the Academy. Well, stay tuned for the next chapter and don't forget to review!


	11. １１つ

**unknownher: **thank you so much for your support! You might want to look forward to future chapters, especially when the story moves to Shippuuden *wiggles brows*

* * *

**第****11****章**

**CHAPTER 11**

Aya slid open the front door, ready to meet with her team and team Gai at the gates of the village. They had to hunt down a pack of dangerous boars that had been attacking a nearby village. Throwing her white backpack over her shoulder, she made sure her hair was tightened up securely by poking at her bun. Satisfied with the feeling of it, she took a large step outside, only to fall back on her butt. Turning her head around, she saw her brother with an idiotic grin on his face and his arms folded, leaning on the doorframe. He'd yanked her back by her lilac haori, therefore causing her to lose balance. Aya gritted her teeth and balled a fist in front of her. "Arata! What's the big idea?!"

'_She's so cute_' he mentally sighed. "Calm down, sis. Just wanted to give you another piece of precious advice." She just huffed and got herself up, but Arata knew that she was listening. "The bracelet I gave you" he motioned with his head towards the red item around her wrist "I'm sure Aoi's already given you some information about it, but I'd like to put my two cents too."

She raised a brow at him. "Ok, I'm all ears."

"Since your control on the Saibou Undou is still shitty, it completely inhibits your ability to use it at your free will. This means, it will only activate when you find yourself in a life or death situation again."

She let out a small whine. "So this means I can't use it?" Arata nodded. She wrapped her fingers around the bracelet. "Then what if I take it off-"

He immediately slapped her hand away. "Don't, you idiot! Unless you want to turn into a bloody puddle!"

She almost pouted at his antics, rubbing her hand sullenly. "Geez, sorry."

"I have a mission to go on too. Take care" he said, his blue eyes narrowed sternly.

"Don't worry. It's just a regular C-rank."

"See ya in three days, then."

"Three days?! Are you going to be away for so long?" she gaped.

"Don't worry. It's just a regular S-rank" he grinned.

"You're such a cocky ass."

* * *

Kagerou scowled at the pathetic form of her teammate. "You're late. Again."

Aya just stared at her with half-lidded eyes. "It's not my fault this time."

"Don't worry, Aya-chin! Tenten hasn't come yet, so we still have to wait for her" Yu chirped. She seemed to be a lot happier than usual, Aya noticed.

"Oi! Sorry for the wait!" Tenten's voice rang loudly, and they saw her running towards the rest of them.

Yu was instantly at her side. "Did you bring it?" she whispered in her friend's ear.

Tenten nodded and took out a camera from her backpack. "Sure I did!"

Neji narrowed his eyes at the two girls. "What is that for?"

"H-huh? Oh, this! Well, you never know when you might need it!" Tenten scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

"You are truly well equipped, Tenten! Such a youthful trait!" Lee beamed. The boy had changed his appearance a few weeks ago, and was now almost identical to his sensei, wearing a green spandex jumpsuit and having his hair in a bowl cut.

"Thanks, Lee…"

"Oi. You squirts ready?" Ryuuichi asked, glancing at them lazily. Receiving a wave of nods, he and Gai turned around and stepped out of the village.

* * *

Less than an hour later, after skipping through the trees of the nearby forest, they arrived at the small village a little way far from Konoha. They were greeted by many civilians, who were over the moon at their arrival. "The boars will come out at dawn" one of them said.

"Very well, then. I have a plan" Ryuuichi said, turning to the rest of the team. "Since there are lots of crazy boars, we're going to have to split up. Teams of two will do, what do you say?" he turned to ask Gai, who just nodded in response.

Tenten and Yu immediately looked at each other. There was no need for words between the two of them. Exchanging a nod, they started their plan.

"I'm going to pair up with Lee!" Yu cried, making the boy's cheeks gain a rosy tint.

"And I'm calling dibs on Kagerou!" Tenten said, grinning from ear to ear.

The blonde frowned suspiciously at the overly-excited girl. "Why me?" she asked.

"W-well, just wanted to get to know you better, that's all" Tenten quickly answered.

Neji glanced at Aya. "Seems like we're a team" he said.

She smirked slightly. "I can't wait to see some of the Hyuuga techniques."

Gai gave the two of them a thumbs up. "Brilliant! A Hyuuga and a Hara will work beautifully together!"

Neji raised a brow in question. "What do you mean, Gai?"

"The Hara techniques are principally based on Fūton. There have been many Hyuuga and Hara shinobi that worked as a pair, since wind enhances the destructive and defensive power of the Hyuuga techniques" he explained, pointing a finger upwards.

"Oh" Aya said, following his train of thoughts. "That's true, now that I think about it…"

Ryuuichi clapped his hands. "Let's get started, then. We have to cover the entire area. Gai and I will go north, Kagerou and Tenten west, munchkin and Lee south, Aya-hime and Neji get the east."

"Roger!" they cried in unison before disappearing from their spots.

* * *

By the time they covered their respective areas, the sky had already gotten dark. The sound of owls and crickets filled the air, accompanied by the occasional howl of wolves, making Yu stick to the poor Lee at each scary sound. "Y-Yu-san, are you perhaps scared of wolves?" he stuttered, thanking the darkness for covering his burning cheeks at her proximity.

"D-Don't be stupid, Lee! I'm just afraid of losing you with this darkness and all!"

_**Oink oink**_

"It's one of them, isn't it?" Yu asked shakily.

"I am afraid it is."

She turned her head slowly, coming face to face with a wild boar twice her size.

"Whoa there. You may wanna lay off the nachos, pal."

The boar let out a low grunt, starting to scratch the ground with its foot.

Lee gulped and took Yu's wrist. "Yu-san, it seems to be mad."

"S-so what do you suggest we do?"

"We should probably run, for now."

"Ok."

* * *

In the north and west, everything went smooth. In the east, Neji and Aya were currently dealing with a gigantic, angry mother boar. At the sound of its cry, more of them came in rescue, encircling the two genin. They pressed their backs against each other, entering a defensive stance. "I am going to perform the Hakkeshou Kaiten" Neji said "however, it is a short-range defensive technique."

The corners of Aya's lips twitched upwards. "We'll make it a long-range offensive technique, then."

Neji started spinning around, Aya following his movement. "Hakkeshou Kaiten!"

They were now engulfed in a blue chakra semi-sphere. The boars that got closer were immediately knocked out. An air swirl started to spin around Neji's Kaiten, slowly expanding and sending even the boars further away flying into nearby trees, causing them to break and fall.

When they stopped, everything was still. Neji and Aya were panting lightly, no little surprised at the effect of their techniques combined. A small grin spread across Aya's lips. "Now I see why father always went on missions with Hizashi-san" she murmured.

Neji's eyes widened and his head snapped towards her. "Our fathers went on missions together?"

She nodded, looking down with a sad smile. "Father told me some stories about his missions, saying that his favourite partner had always been Hyuuga Hizashi. Our clans' techniques word well together." She felt Neji's hand on her shoulder.

"_We_ work well together."

_**Snap**_

"What was that?"

A shuffling noise was heard from some nearby bushes. "Crap. They noticed" came a low hiss.

A whine followed. "Aww. And we even ditched out partners just to take some photos!"

"Will you shut up, dammit?!"

"That's Tenten's voice…" Neji narrowed his eyes.

"And that was Yu's."

.

.

.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Aya asked darkly, leaning over the largest bush.

"H-hey, Aya-chin! Didn't expect your hearing to be so good-OWCH! What was that for?!"

"Hand over the camera" she glowered.

"What are you talking about?" Yu tried playing dumb.

"Is that another punch in the head I hear?"

"H-here! Take it! Just have mercy!"

Neji would've been lying if he would've said Aya didn't look a little scary at that moment.

* * *

**A/N:** Ah, the satisfaction of posting a new chapter in just one day... You'll have to wait another week for the next one, though! :P


	12. １２つ

**第****12****章**

**CHAPTER 12**

When she returned from her mission way past midnight, Aya was very much surprised to see that Arata was already back from his. The expression on his face was frightening, and he looked like he could smash the nearest thing at any moment. He had cuts all over his arms and his uniform was dirty and battered. Aya put her backpack down on the porch and got closer to him with cautious steps. "Arata?" she called out tentatively.

He must've been so engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed her getting closer. At the sound of his sister's voice, he flinched in surprise and looked at her with bewildered eyes. She noticed that his electric blue orbs were bloodshot and wary, darting around restlessly. "…Aya" he managed to blurt out.

His breath hitched when she touched his bare upper arm, where he had the ANBU tattoo. She raised a brow at him. "What's wrong?" she inquired.

He grasped his head in his hands, looking down at the wooden porch. "The mission… it failed." Her eyes widened, and her heart started to pound so hard she could hear it in her ears. Arata never failed to complete a mission, no matter its rank. Little did she know, however, that Arata's behavior wasn't due to the mission's failure itself. Distancing herself from him, she came to the conclusion that in the state he was in, he wouldn't be able to give her a sensible answer.  
~

"What happened to Arata?" Aya asked her father, worry evident in her voice. That night, after getting cleaned up and dressed, she presented herself in front of the clan's head, seeking for answers.

Hara Kei looked away from his daughter, not sure on how to break the news to the still naïve genin. She hadn't yet been exposed to the cruelties of being a shinobi, although this was only a little part of it all. A ninja should expect for anything to happen at any time, for ninjas always live on the line. No securities, no ideas about what tomorrow may bring, be it a blessing or a disaster. "It is time for you to grow up, my dear daughter. Not only physically, but also mentally" he said in a grave tone "emotionally". She couldn't help but narrow his eyes at him in confusion. Was what happened during her brother's mission really _that_ bad? Maybe they'd lost some top-secret information, or maybe they'd been busted and had to retire. But then, what did her father mean by 'emotionally'?

"What does Arata's mission have to do with me?" she asked. Her father looked her in the eyes, a gesture he didn't do very often, but made the hairs on the back of her neck raise in anticipation. '_This is bad. This is really bad._'

"Everyone died, Aya. Arata was the only survivor. All his comrades and friends, they are all dead."

_Remember, enemies are not the only ones to die._

* * *

In the meanwhile, at the Kita compound, in a bare wooden room lightened only by the full moon, Kagerou dipped a cloth in a water tray and squeezed it lightly. She brought it up to her temple and winced when the damp material came in contact with the wound, the cloth getting stained by the coagulated red liquid.

"You are too reckless" a gentle voice whispered loud enough for her to hear it.

Her face remained unfazed as she lazily looked up at the form hidden in the shadows. "He said that if I can't beat him by the time I turn sixteen, he'll disown me" she replied with resentment. "I need to get stronger, and Konoha isn't helping" she added under her breath.

She saw the figure getting closer and sitting next to her. "Don't get too hasty, Kagerou" her mother's fingers trailed softly on top of her cut before placing a patch on it.

Kagerou looked out at the moon, taking in its white, calming hue. "The moon it's the same everywhere, right?"

The young woman raised a delicate brow at her daughter, but nodded slowly nonetheless. "I suppose so."

A bitter smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "Then I won't miss it, even if I'm somewhere else."

A hand squeezed her shoulder lightly. "What do you mean?"

She glanced at her mother from the corner of her eye. "Whatever choice I make, promise me you won't stop me."

"…you are your father's daughter. When you have something in mind, nothing can stop you."

* * *

The next day, word that the new Chuunin Exams were drawing near spread through Konoha like a fire. All the jounin were reunited in front of the Hokage, who was sitting behind his desk. "Very well" the old man said "It's time to choose our candidates for this year's examination. The jounin who are in charge of rookie genin teams, make a step forward." Three of them emerged from the group. "Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma. What do you say? Are there any in your squads you recommend? Kakashi, you begin."

"I lead the squad formed by Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura. I recommend those three to the Chuunin selection exam under my name, Hatake Kakashi."

"I lead the squad formed by Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino. I recommend those three to the Chuunin selection exam under my name, Yuuhi Kurenai."

"I lead the squad formed by Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji. I recommend those three to the Chuunin selection exam under my name, Sarutobi Asuma."

The rest of the jounin present in the room looked flabbergasted at the fact that all three squad leaders had made recommendations. The Hokage turned his head towards Ryuuichi, who was present in the room just like all the other jounin. "What about you, Ryuuichi? Your genin aren't rookies anymore. Would you like to recommend them this time?"

Said man seemed to ponder the idea for a couple of seconds before nodding and making a step forward too. "I lead the squad formed by Nakama Yu, Hara Aya and Kita Kagerou. I recommend those three to the Chuunin selection exam under my name, Aragi Ryuuichi."

A small smile spread across Hiruzen's face. '_Glad to see he's changed his mind. It means their squad overcame the initial conflicts._'

After everyone was dismissed and the jounin that recommended their subordinates completed their students' admissions, Ryuuichi decided to pay each of his a visit. Having arrived in front of Anko's apartment, he knocked on the door twice, and it opened right away. "Munchkin, just who I needed to talk to!" he ruffled Yu's hair until it looked like broom.

She slapped his hand away with a grunt. "Ryuuichi-sensei, what do you want?"

He shoved a brown card in front of her without giving any explanation about what it was. "Tell Anko I'm counting on her" he said before disappearing in a puff of smoke, his next destinations being the Hara and then the Kita compounds.

Yu stared at the card in her hands. '_**Nakama Yu**__. I recommend the one with the name above to the Chuunin selection exam under my name, Aragi Ryuuichi._' Her eyes widened in excitement, an ear-to-ear grin spreading across her face. "Yahoo! Ryuuichi-sensei, I LOVE YOU!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, receiving weird glanced from the civilians that were circulating in the streets.

* * *

Team Gai was at their training ground, discussing the hot topic with their sensei. "I am sure this time you are willing to participate, right?" Gai asked his students.

Tenten was sitting atop a rock, flailing her legs about. "Mm-hm. We got stronger, and our teamwork doesn't seem to have any problems, so we'll take this year's examination" she said with a smile. Her foot hit something hard.

"_Ouch._" A sideway glare was directed her way. Her teammate was leaning his back against that rock, arms and legs crossed.

"Oops. Sorry, Neji."

"Tch. Whatever."

Gai sweat-dropped at their terse exchange. "No problems with teamwork you say, huh?"

Lee shook his hands in front of him with a worried expression. "No, Gai-sensei. Please don't misunderstand! They spare very often together. If they happen to bicker sometimes, it's just because of Neji's regular attitude" he tried to explain frantically, worried that their sensei might doubt their ability to work together.

"Lee" Neji narrowed his eyes at him warningly.

"Stop scowling, Neji, or your face will get stuck like that and Aya will stop liking you" Tenten said in mock seriousness.

"Stop talking out of your ass!"

"Now, now. Let us not blow this wonderful day" Gai said with his usual blinding smile. "Anyway, Ryuuichi finally decided to recommend his team to this year's examination, so you will not be the only non-rookies to participate."

Neji's ears perked up at his sensei's statement. So Aya was going to participate. This only meant that he might have the chance to go against her during the exam. '_I can't wait to see what you really are made of, Hara. Are you a prodigy, or a loser? There is no in-between'._

* * *

**A/N:** *bows deeply* So sorry this took so long! It's because I've been particularly caught up with another fan-fiction I'm writing, and I expect it to be better than this one. It's a Yu Yu Hakusho fic, KuramaxOC, and I already posted the first and second chapters. Anyway, don't worry, I'm not one to give up on something once I start it. See ya next time!


	13. １３つ

**第****13****章**

**CHAPTER 13**

Nothing was like it was supposed to be. Everything she had come to know, everything was a lie. The reassuring smiles, the careless conversations, the praise, everything that was supposed to help her achieve the title of an honorable shinobi, they were all lies. It was starting to wear off, like an old wallpaper, and Aya could take a glimpse at all the horrible things that awaited her on the other side. It was reality, hitting her in the face like a brick.

The only person that she could turn to was her cynical yet down-to-earth cousin. Aoi had never pretended to be what she wasn't. She didn't put up a mask like the others, a mask used to cover all the hardships she had been through. It all showed on her face: the tiredness, the apathy, the unfazed look she held when gazing upon the world. Yet, Aoi was powerful, and very much so. But all that power had come at a cost, one that she herself would have to pay in order to reach the level she wanted.

The rain poured down heavily, forming huge puddles and sticky mud, the smell of it filling their nostrils. It was just another day of training with her shishou, like many others. Only, this time, after yet another taijutsu session, tired, panting, soaked to the bone and emotionally worn out, Aya was starting to get fed up with the endless routine. Letting out a low grumble, she blocked, to Aoi's great surprise, a blow that was meant for her jaw. Her cousin skidded back, brows slightly rose in disbelief at her sudden burst of stamina. "I'm…" she let out a shaky breath "I'm tired of all of this." Her voice got stronger and stronger by the second. "Stop playing around and train me seriously already!"

Aoi's surprise faded into a frown. "You are still shaken at the news of their deaths. Do not make decisions when you aren't emotionally stable."

She shook her head frantically, angry tears coming out and getting mixed with the raindrops on her face. "For all I know, we could all die next week, or even tomorrow. The most frustrating thing is not knowing when the end comes, and under what circumstances. But even so… I want to be prepared for it. So please, _Aoi-shishou_, teach me how to be like you!"

A long pause followed her outburst, during which only the sound of large droplets hitting the ground could be heard. Aoi let her arms fall limp at her sides, and she stepped closer to her apprentice, her hair ever just so slightly out of place. She looked so different now from how Aya had seen her that sunny day of their first training session. She lowered her head next to her cousin's. "Do you really want to become like me?" she whispered darkly in her ear. Aya bit her lower lip and nodded in determination. "Then I'll tell one thing, so you can change your mind." Receiving a confused glance, Aoi continued. "Arata's comrades and friends were also mine. I grew up with them, played with them, shared my food with them" she let out a huff of humorless laughter "but guess what? I didn't shed a tear."

A hitched breath. "You didn't?"

"No. Not even one. Aya." Two dark blue eyes fixed on her, full of bewilderment and confusion. "It still hurts, but I wept all my tears a long time ago. Now, I don't have any more of them. This is what I call being a real shinobi. Nothing more than an empty shell, a killing machine. Nobody ever said it was an enjoyable experience."

The poor thirteen-year-old didn't know what to think. Was Aoi a rare case of heartlessness, or was this how all the adults she knew were really like? If that mean being a shinobi, she didn't want anything to do with it. She had been blinded by the happy perspectives of a peaceful future, fighting enemies only to keep them away from Konoha, but if the price of peace was that great, was it really worth it? Aoi had been right: she didn't want to become like her.

However, even if the possibility of retiring from being a ninja was there, something gnawed at the back of her conscience. All her friends were ninja, risking their lives for the safety of their village and loved ones. Wouldn't she be considered a coward if she dropped out out of the blue? She looked down at her dirty sandals.

"Train me harder. Whatever it takes."

"Set yourself a mental goal. It usually helps to advance faster" Aoi said placidly.

Aya thought about it for a few seconds. What was the one thing that had always put her on second place at the Academy? She looked at her cousin with eyes full of clarity. "I want to beat Hyuuga Neji. Once and for all."

* * *

"Damn it" Ryuuichi cursed under his breath. He was on his way towards the Kita compound, but at a certain point, small droplets had started to fall from the sky, until it turned in the damn Deluge in less than a minute. He couldn't just turn around and go home, though, for all his students needed to know that they were attending the Chuunin exams as soon as possible. He made his way into that creepy place again, went straight in front of Kagerou's house, jumped on her balcony, and opened the window of her bedroom nonchalantly, startling the poor genin that was in her room, sweeping the floor silently. "Will you stop doing that, you stalker?" she whisper-yelled, so that her mother, who was downstairs, wouldn't have a heart attack.

He ignored her and got inside, leaving trails of water behind him. Kagerou growled lowly, making him look up at her. He noticed that the corner of her eye was purple, and the bruise disappeared under a huge Band-Aid on her temple. "How did you get that?" he asked in a stern voice. He remembered the time he'd first come to her place. She had a similar injury on her cheek.

She looked away. "Bumped against a door" she bristled through gritted teeth.

Ryuuichi's eyes narrowed. "I happen to bump my head against a lot of things, but it doesn't result in _that_."

"Will you just tell me why you're here and then go away? My wounds are none of your business."

"I beg to differ. I am responsible of my subordinate's wellbeing" her sensei retorted, showing no signs of wanting to back off on the topic.

Kagerou rolled her eyes at him. "Ok. I got in a fight with one of my idiotic cousins. Happy now?" she lied smoothly.

He still looked unconvinced, but didn't press on the matter. Instead, he took out a brown card and handed it to her. "Take it as a present" he mumbled before disappearing into thin air.

'_**Kita Kagerou**__. I recommend the one with the name above to the Chuunin selection exam under my name, Aragi Ryuuichi._' She smirked slightly to herself. "Thanks."

* * *

That evening, after Ryuuichi had gone to Aya's house and given her the admission to the Chuunin exams, a certain Hyuuga genius decided to pay the girl a visit, with a clear purpose in mind: test her abilities. He found her behind the woods of the Hara compound, in a vast clearing adorned by all types of flowers. The rain had just died down, but she didn't seem to mind the wet ground, since she was sitting cross-legged, meditating. He watched her from afar, hidden by a tall tree's foliage.

"Are you here to congratulate me?" came her calm voice. So she'd sensed his chakra. Smooth. He jumped down from the tree branch and walked until he was in front of her. When she patted the ground next to her invitingly but he didn't comply, she opened her eyes and raised a brow. "Scared that you'll wet your clothes?" she mused.

"No." His curt reply let her somehow perplex. "I'm here to spar with you."

"Is that so?" she sighed and got up slowly, brushing off the non-existing dust from her white, flowy robe. "Get ready then. I learnt a few new tricks today."

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards. "Get ready to get owned again, Hara."

She looked bemused at his words. "Oh? We're using last names now? This must be getting serious then."

They both got into fighting stances. From afar, two blue eyes were watching them appraisingly.

* * *

**A/N:** Things will start to move faster starting from the next chapter. Brace yourselves.


End file.
